The exhibition First Draft, part of the 2013 Denver Biennial of the Americas, examined the relation between the artistic process and drafting. Featuring the work of twenty-two Colorado artists, the exhibition highlighted the role of the artist as an investigator of new or unfamiliar ideas and forms. In this sense, a draft, rather than being a stage on the way to a final version, was framed as a completed work of art in itself, representing a paused moment within an artist’s exploratory practice.

The artists in this exhibition engaged with the concept of “draft” in several ways, from creating serial works to repurposing materials. Artists also explored the process of repetition as a way of investigating multiplicities, gradients, intensities, and overlaps.

First Draft is a companion to Draft Urbanism, the Biennial’s exhibition of art and architecture, located in outdoor locations throughout the downtown Denver area. While Draft Urbanism posits that building a city is always a work in progress, First Draft focuses on artistic process.